Liverpool’s injury woes keep coming after they were forced to substitute Fabinho against Midtjylland last night. The stand-in centre-back was replaced by youngster Rhys Williams after going down with a suspected hamstring injury. The Brazilian will undergo a scan to determine the extent of his injury, but it’s already left the Reds in a worrying situation.

If Fabinho is ruled out of action, Jurgen Klopp will be down to just one fit senior centre-back. Indeed, Joel Matip is still sidelined, which leaves only Joe Gomez to lead the backline as Liverpool fight to retain their Premier League crown.

Liverpool transfer market blunder

It has already been highlighted by the likes of Jamie Carragher that the Reds were foolish not to bring in a new centre-back this summer. With Virgil van Dijk more than likely out for the rest of the season, their chances of winning back-to-back titles have been severely dashed by recent injuries, whilst they also allowed Dejan Lovren to leave without signing a replacement which could turn out to be an inexcusable error given their current lack of options.

Fabinho was proving to be a blessing after rapidly adapting to his new role as centre-back. His performances against Ajax and Sheffield United helped to resurrect Liverpool’s lost form with successive wins, but they now find themselves exactly where they were two weeks ago.

Although Williams slotted in nicely against Midtjylland in the Champions League meeting at Anfield, it’s not a sensible idea to hope he will be enough to carry the Reds forwards. The 19-year-old has made just four senior appearances so far and is nowhere near tried and tested to be relied on long-term.

Should Matip be out for a while, Klopp has just Gomez and Williams as his options moving forwards. It’s certainly not a situation any expected the holding champions to be in just two months into the campaign.

It’s crucial that Michael Edwards and Klopp make a centre-back their priority in the January window, or things could take a hideous turn for this season’s title hopes. However in truth, they could already find themselves in a hole by the turn of the year, with their Achilles heel likely to be a defensive crisis which could have been avoided by signing a Lovren replacement.

In other news, Signing major target Ben White could spell trouble for Joe Gomez at Liverpool…